Aftershock I
by Evergreendusk
Summary: Meilin is worried. She's worried about Conor and his fate. Rollan is trying. He's trying so hard his head hurts. Conor is trapped. Was that really how it ends for him? Abeke is clueless. She has no idea of what is really happening. *disclaimer, i donot own spirit animals
1. kidnapped?

Aftershock

So they had won. Meilin was happy. She was sure Rollan had to be. It was one of those things that she'd rather not talk about to him or anyone. A huge change in personality if she did. Meilin was one of those type of people that are different on the inside.

She had a huge crush on him lately. Things have been complicated, lately. In Zhong, she was one of those virgin girls that nobody dared to talk to. So much has changed since then. Rollan was one of those changes.

Ever since she got freed from the bile, so much had changed. She didn't have that twisted feeling in her spine. But, again, it's been really weird to have so much control. Mostly, it was nice.

"Meilin! Where were you? I've been looking all over for you!" Rollan. It was Rollan.

"Nowhere- well, somewhere, but nowhere," said Meilin.

"I couldn't find Abeke or Conor either. Seriously."

"No Abeke or Conor? Wait. Conor left a note that said he was going to Trunswick," said Meilin.

"That's not right, Conor doesn't know how to write," said Rollan. He had a point. "And if he asked someone else, Conor would have mentioned it in the note. Something was just not right."

Meilin thought about it. It was honestly creepy. "What if he got kidnapped?"


	2. Dream

The four fallen were skating on the ice. They were laughing so hard while each of them took turns falling down. They were experiencing Artica for the second time. This time, they actually played. On the snow, on the ice, with antelope bone strapped to their feet.

For Conor, it was fun. Sometimes he would take some snow and throw it at Rollan, other times; he would skate downhill towards the beautiful pine trees of Artica. He would throw a stick for Briggan to catch. The Great wolf would catch it and slip. Again and again.

Suddenly, someone from behind pushed him towards a deep, endless pit. Conor screamed loudly. He panicked. He was still falling.

Above, he heard Meilin panic, Rollan's hurried footsteps and Abeke's laughter. _Laughter?_

Yes, Abeke was laughing with another voice and still skating on the ice. She was having a good time while he was falling in an endless pit.

Despite how strong and brave of a personality he had, he started crying. There was no one else around him. He didn't care.

Everything was for the first time, although it seemed achingly familiar.

It was cold, but beads of sweat were starting to form on the back of Conor's neck.

Abeke journeyed with him, won the war with him, yet, now, in a problem like this, she betrayed him. She didn't care about him.

This was all false, yet, true.

And then he woke up.


	3. what about abeke

Rollan couldn't stop thinking about what Meilin said yesterday. What if Conor is kidnapped? What on Erdas happened to him and Abeke? Where is Abeke even? He had so many questions. He was trying- trying so hard to answer each and every one. He couldn't stop thinking about it.

Why didn't Abeke leave a note?

Rollan scold himself for asking another pointless question with no possible answer. He scolds himself for making his head hurt so much. He was the useless one with questions and everyone else had the answers.

Suddenly, a weight was put on his shoulder and Rollan almost stumbled backwards. He turned his head and saw Essix perched on his shoulder. He walked to the dining room with the Great falcon on his shoulder.

His head stopped hurting and he found himself smiling. It was Meilin.

"Good morning, my lady panda," said Rollan.

"Can you do me a small favor?" asked Meilin sweetly. "Stop with the nickname."

"I would but it fits you perfectly."

Meilin rolled her eyes and started stirring her oatmeal. Then, she turned serious.

"Any news of Abeke?"

Rollan shook his head. Where did Abeke go? Then, it reminded him.

"The day before Abeke disappeared, she was acting all strange and like she was hiding something." He turned to Essix."I had a small sense that she was lying, but I didn't say anything to her. I thought it made no sense that she was lying about simple things such as going to breakfast the next morning."

Meilin sighed and said, "Did you notice anything weird about Conor?"

"Actually, no. He was completely normal, like his strange instinct to tell the tuth." Then, Rollan hesitated. "I heard him scream in the night and went to go check on him, but I didn't find him."

Rollan regretted saying that. He knew Meilin would scowl for not telling anyone. And she did.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" she said.

"I- I thought it was just, y'know, his dreams and I didn't see him. I didn't want to wake anyone, especially you. You get very mad."

"So it's true, then. Conor is definitely kidnapped. Abeke is still another mystery to solve."


	4. Right?

_**Hey guys! I know the chapters are super short, but only cuz I don't want to spoil stuff for u. So I promise this chapter will be way longer, and, you'll most likely want to kill me after this one. But the fifth one will explain everything (including Conor's dream the part where it says "this was fake yet, true") p.s I am NOT the best writer in the world. I'm only (I can't tell you my age) very small, so, yeah.**_

Abeke was happy. That was what mattered, right? What she thought mattered to her, not what others thought. She doesn't judge people, so that's a message to others to not judge her. It wasn't one of her mistakes; the war was over and nothing could happen, right? This wasn't one of those I'm-gonna-regret-this mistakes, right?

If only she knew.

She considered how the others would respond. Meilin would be on one of those tempers that she had about the 'he was the enemy that killed my father'. Those didn't last long. They weren't that bad. Rollan would be in his mysterious 'I'm gonna read you with my amazing powers for the rest of your life' thing. Whatever. Those were only a bit creepy; having him stand right in front of her face all the 'rest of her life'. That usually meant an hour or so.

But what about _Conor_?

Conor would be jealous, sad, angry, different and really, really disappointed. That was the only thing she was worried about. She was very worried about him. Well, it technically wasn't her fault that she didn't like Conor back. He is nice and understanding, but, she didn't like, love, him. Really, lots of cuter boys had that quality.

But what _about_ Conor?

For the best, she decided not to think about him for the 'rest of her life'. Like Rollan, that usually meant an hour or so.

So maybe she did like Conor.

But not as much as Shane.

He asked her to go to Stetriol with him. After all, he did save them from Kovo. There wasn't any threat to have him around. Besides, Stetriol is known to the rest of Erdas, unlike before. He was still the Devourer, but that name didn't mean anything. It wasn't a scary title anymore. It _was_ a scary title, but now it isn't.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrr" growled Uraza as she locked her violet eyes on Shane. Uraza was always like that to Shane, but Abeke calmed her down every time.

"The war is over; there is nothing wrong with him. He's perfectly fine," said Abeke to Uraza. Still, even as Abeke calmed Uraza, she gave her a sense of he-is-bad in her brain. Abeke ignored it. There couldn't possibly be anything wrong with Shane. He hated Gerathon. The most evil betrayed him. He saved their lives. End of story. There was certainly not a thing wrong with him.

"Hello Abeke," said a sudden voice that made her startle. "Are you searching for the dining room?"

She smiled. It was Shane.

"Apparently, yes."

There was absolutely not a single thing wrong with Shane. He was a nice person.

Just as nice as Conor, but a hundred times cuter.

 _ **So, yeah, you get why you would want to kill me. It's part of the plot! You'll get it when you read chapter 5. (well, when it's up.)**_

 _ **~Alicio, the person who definitely does ship Shaneke.**_


	5. She is not my girlfriend

_**You'll get it, I promise.**_

Shane wanted the staff of cycles.

That was all Conor could ever think about, these days. And all these nights. Since he was trapped in prison until he gave out the secret, he didn't sleep. At all.

Abeke was somewhere upstairs being lied to by Shane. Shane was gonna kill her! She didn't know anything at all. She had way to much trust in people. Sometimes, Conor wished that Abeke was more like Rollan, not ever trusting anyone, in anyway.

It didn't matter anyways; there very few days left in Abeke's life. There was no time to change.

A sudden creak of the door startled Conor. It was Shane.

"Tell me where that staff is or your girlfriend won't live to see you again!" snapped Shane.

"She is not my girlfriend," protested Conor. "She isn't my girlfriend at all! Nope, not at all! She is totally so not my girlfriend. Wait, did you say _girlfriend_?"

"Listen, sheep boy, she is under my control twenty-four seven. She doesn't know anything and she completely trusts me. Your friends think you're in Trunswick, petting sheep. They-"

"What? Why do they think I'm in Trunswick?"

"Didn't you, I don't know, leave them a goodbye note? Hmm?" asked Shane calmly.

"You did _what_?" Conor stared at Shane. Then, Conor laughed. "You don't know, then, that I can't read, right?"

Shane stopped for a second, with an embarrassing expression. "It doesn't matter; they have no idea where you are."

"But Abeke left a note. They know where she is."

"Riiiiiiight," said Shane. "She _did_ leave a note. But I might have accidently threw it away. Whoops."

Conor stared at him. He didn't have one slight idea of where the staff of cycles was kept. Where in the world did Olvan put it?

"Give it to me within three days; I will spare you and your girlfriend. Resist, you and Abeke will be dead and I will find it myself. "

Shane closed the door and Conor slapped his forehead. What can he do? He could lie, but if Shane found out, he would kill him. He couldn't send a message to Greenhaven. There was no way he could kill Shane, there was no way he could tell Abeke. Unless…

 _ **Skip three days…**_

Abeke's pov

Abeke wanted to explore the whole ship without Shane. She liked doing that type of thing. It was fun. Shane did give her a tour, but, she wanted to explore beyond that. She wanted to see the attic, the kitchen and the basement, the three places Shane didn't tell her about. She would start with the attic.

The attic was completely a disaster. There were spider webs and rats. The official definition of disgusting.

She decided to go to the kitchen.

The kitchen wasn't that bad. The cooks were working. But, it was boring. There were cooks cooking and nothing else.

Next stop: the basement.

She searched for the door that leads to the basement. It was well hidden for some reason. She had to pick the lock, a skill that she learned from Rollan. She opened the door, went down the stairs and screamed.

"What are you doing here, Conor? Did you follow us through the night?" asked Abeke. The puzzle was getting solved in her mind. "You went and spied on me, didn't you? "

"Shane wants to kill you! Don't you understand? We have to get out of here! He wants the staff of cycles! Abeke, he wants to kill you!"

Nonsense. Conor had to be lying. Why would Shane want to kill her? Conor must have trapped himself down there to get her attention and go back to Greenhaven with her.

"You're insane. How did you even trap yourself down here?" asked Abeke as Uraza leaned on his jail cell. "Uraza, let's go and leave this insane person alone." Uraza wined, but obeyed.

Abeke ignored Conor and went up the stairs. _What was he thinking?_

She reached the top, the door flew open, as Shane flung a knife at Abeke.


	6. searching for her

Meilin woke up. Today was different. Rollan had told her to search in Abeke's room for clues. She had to hurry if she wanted to tease Rollan about being late. Rollan was usually way later than her but she figured if he was the one that planned it, he would be much earlier.

The halls weren't lit like usual.

There was no one in Greenhaven.

"Hello? Rollan, what type of trick is this?" demanded Meilin as she walked slowly.

It seemed darker. _I must be dreaming._

She hurried to Abeke's room anyway. She found… Shane.

"Hurry Abeke, we must get going," said Shane.

"Don't go Abeke!" shouted Meilin. If they heard her, they must have ignored her.

"Okay, I'm almost done writing my note," said Abeke

"Wake up Meilin!" shouted a voice.

This time, Meilin actually woke up. She was on the floor of her room. She opened her eyes and found Rollan shaking her.

"Lenori promised she would help, remember?" said Rollan, annoyed. "We have to hurry. She doesn't have all the time in the world."

 _Later…_

"I dreamed of Abeke writing a note with Shane."

"I had the exact same dream. Isn't that weird?" asked Rollan.

Abeke's room was normal. Her bed at one corner, her table at the other, and her closet. But it was empty. Meilin started to investigate. Suddenly, a rat came from the closet. Meilin screamed. Rollan laughed. Lenori ignored that.

"Laugh again and you'll regret it."

Meilin searched again. There was nothing out of the ordinary except an empty closet. It might be nothing; Abeke was known to have not much clothes in her closet.

"What's this?" asked Rollan as he picked up a piece of paper. He opened it to reveal a crossed out note. "The ink here is the same as Conor's note. The crosses, anyway."

"Let me try to read it. _'Dear Meilin, Rollan and Conor, I have left with Shane to Steriol because-'_ "

"WHAT?" interrupted Meilin. "Lenori, is that even right? Because Shane is responsible for my father's death and I will NOT allow Abeke to go to a stupid place with a stupid person!"

"Let me continue, Meilin,"said Lenori calmly. " _'I want to go to a nice place with a nice person. Meilin, are you reading this? If you are, please don't get mad. Don't worry, Shane is fine. He is a nice person and he won't do anything, I promise. Sincerely, Abeke.'_ I think- "

Suddenly, Meilin ripped the letter in half. She ripped it again. "That no good stupid jerk."

"Great. There goes our only chance of finding Abeke. Congrats Meilin," said Rollan sarcastically.

"Well, we already know where Abeke is. She is with a b-"

"Ahem," reminded Lenori.

"It says something in the back."

Meilin turned to Rollan, who was putting the letter back together.

"Let me read it. _'If you want Abeke back, turn in the Staff of Cycles.'_ That's all I can read. The rest is apparently unreadable because someone did something to it," said Rollan while glaring at Meilin.

Meilin thought about it. She was a bit guilty. If it weren't for her rage mode, they could have been rescuing Abeke. But it didn't matter; Abeke was in Stetriol or somewhere near it while being hunted by some person who wanted to rule the world.

If Abeke was this close to dying, where was Conor? Was he even alive?

"It says something about Conor here, but I can't read it. It was demolished by somebody."

"It doesn't matter, we're heading to Stetriol."

 _ **I hope you liked it. Thank you so much for all the reviews, I really appreciate them!**_

 _ **~Alicio**_


	7. regret and relieve

_**Thank you so much for all the reviews, guys! Enjoy!**_

Rollan paced around the deck of the boat. He kicked at a stone, waiting for something to happen. He waited for Meilin to do something, but she kept on reading some random boring book. He kicked another stone. He kicked it hard and it flew towards Meilin's direction.

Bad mistake.

The rock hit her on the arm and she turned to Rollan. This made her slightly angry. Slightly was underestimating and being nice.

Meilin glared at Rollan. She picked up the rock and threw it to Rollan's face. It hit him. Hard. So hard that Rollan's head started bleeding.

"Meilin!" complained Rollan.

The rock felt like the blade of the sword, piercing his head. It felt even worse than that; it was Meilin who did it, not anyone else.

Meilin shrugged. "Doesn't hurt for me."

Rollan showed Meilin the blood that had just dripped down his face. "See that? Yeah, that was what you did."

He saw that Meilin's face changed completely when he showed her. She was definitely regretting what she did. She ran down the stairs and came back up with bandages.

"Sorry…"

Rollan sighed and started sticking the bandages on his face.

 **Meanwhile…**

Conor heard Abeke screamed. He heard Abeke's footsteps. But most of all, he heard Abeke's regret.

For anyone else, regret was more like a 'see I told you and you didn't listen I laugh' thing. But this was Abeke, Abeke who had helped him, who had received help from him, then forgotten everything and left them. _**(Sounding familiar right? *cough * Chapter two *cough cough*)**_

But that didn't mean he had forgotten.

"Summon Briggan!" yelled Abeke from above.

 _What would Briggan do?_ thought Conor. But he did so anyways.

"It's not like he could lean on the bars then break them," muttered Conor under his breath.

Briggan leaned against the bars and they broke. The wolf grinned and calmly walked out.

"We need help, Conor!" yelled Abeke from above.

Conor ran up the stairs and helped Abeke. "How? It's not like our friends will just come crashing through the roof!"

Then, Meilin and Rollan came crashing through the roof.

Conor slapped his forehead.

Meilin and Rollan tackled Shane and the bodyguard. Rollan pinned Shane down and took the knife while Meilin sat on the bodyguard who stood by the sword point of Rollan.

More Greencloaks came crashing through the roof to fight the backup.

"Quick!" whispered Meilin. "Let's go!"

 **After…**

"How did you find us?" asked Abeke.

"We would rather not talk about that."

Meilin rolled her eyes and started to tell exactly how they found them.

"You forgot the part where your brain stopped and you demolished Abeke's letter."

They took turns talking and sharing their stories, but Conor didn't share one part. He never told anyone about that strange dream.

 _ **Sorry it was short but it's almost the end so uh I didn't write much. There will be one other chapter and that's it. There will be and Aftershock II which is based on mostly Reilin. But that's it for now.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **~Alicio (BTW that's not my real name)**_


	8. epilogue

_**This is the last chapter of Aftershock I. There will be an aftershock II. Enjoy!**_

Epilogue

There was a voice whispering through her head. It was constant and repeating. It was a hopeless thought that she kept telling herself. It was like death itself but even worse. There was no way she could escape from it. It was in her mind and everywhere else. It was so loud, how could nobody else hear it? Was she the unlucky one it caught? Or was it simply because she was a perfect victim? She would never know.

It was impossible to ignore such a sound like the screaming of hope fading into the shadows. It was simply impossible. No one could ignore it, and yet, she blamed herself for not doing a better job in the first place.

 _It wasn't my fault. It isn't and it will never be._

The thought was useless and it couldn't be heard through the wailing of the voices.

 _He will never love you no matter what. It's useless._

 _ **Uhhh yeah! That's it for Aftershock I! thank you for all the reviews!**_


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